The present invention relates generally to a medication dispensing apparatus adapted to dispense a selected one of a plurality of stored drugs and, in particular, to a dispensing apparatus having means for recording data concerning each dispensing transaction.
In a hospital, the traditional method of dispensing certain drugs, such as narcotics, to a nurse designated to administer the narcotic to a particular patient can be a relatively time consuming task. Typically, the narcotics are stored within a locked cabinet and the key required to unlock the cabinet is generally the responsibility of the floor head nurse. When a patient is scheduled to receive a prescribed drug which is contained within the cabinet, the nurse responsible for administering the drug must first obtain the key by locating the head nurse or the person to whom the head nurse had previously given the key. Once the nurse has obtained the key, the nurse can unlock the cabinet and remove the prescribed drug unit therefrom. At this time, the nurse is generally required to complete a record sheet with certain information relating to the prescribed drug. Typically, such information includes the type and dosage of the drug, the patient to whom the drug is to be administered, the patient's room number, the doctor's name, the date and time at which the drug has been removed from the cabinet, and the signature of the nurse who has removed the drug. Also, in hospitals which utilize a system for maintaining a current inventory of the drugs contained within the cabinet, the inventory count must be updated.
Generally, at the end of a working shift, it is the responsibility of the head nurse ending his/her shift and the head nurse beginning his/her shift to perform a physical inventory of the drugs stored within the locked cabinet. The inventory totals are compared with the inventory totals of the previous shift to determine the number of units of each type of drug which were utilized during the last shift. If there is a discrepancy between the number of drugs utilized as indicated by the completed record sheets and the number of drugs utilized as indicated from the physical inventory, this discrepancy is noted for later investigation purposes. In addition to the responsibility of the key to the locked cabinet and the inventory at the start and end of each shift, the head nurse is also responsible for maintaining a proper supply of drugs within the cabinet.
Aside from the fact that the above described method of dispensing medication is often a relatively time consuming task, such a method also suffers from a number of other disadvantages. One of these disadvantages includes the possibility that a nurse will either select an incorrect drug or an improper dosage of the correct drug. Also, there is the possibility that an error may occur in recording information relating to the dispensing transaction. Another problem relates to the tampering of the drugs and the unauthorized removal of drugs from the cabinet. While an inventory system is designed to detect a portion of such unauthorized removal, it is often difficult to determine which person is responsible for the pilferage.
Several automatic medication dispensing systems have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,556,342 and 3,985,264 both disclose drug dispensing systems which are adapted to maintain a record of the individual drugs which are dispensed from the system. Examples of dispensing systems which can be programmed to dispense a desired dosage for a patient at preselected time intervals are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,369,697, 3,762,601, and 3,998,356.